The Rattus Norvegicus (Rattus meaning "Rat" Norvegicus meaning "Norway") also known as the Brown Rat is one of the most common and well known rats of the entire species. Sporting eight different titles (The Brown Rat, The Sewer Rat, The Common Rat, The Norway Rat, The Norwegian Rat, The Wharf Rat, The Brown Norway Rat, The Hanover Rat) it is most commonly known as the Brown Rat. Infact, most bioligists find it strange that it is referred to as "The Norway Rat" as it did not originate from Norway, but rather it originated from Mongolia and/or Northern China. The following report will outline the Habitat, Structural Adaptations, Behavioral Adaptations and Physiological Adaptations of the Brown Rat.
The Brown Rat is a four leggedMuroid with the ability to stand on hind legs. On average the male weighs around 350g, while the female's average weight is around 250g. Some Brown Rat's can be up to 500g, but are not very common. A full grown Brown Rat is usually around 25cm (10 inches) with a tail of the same length of its body (25cm, 10 inches).
Head
Contains the Brown Rat's eyes, brain, ears, mouth and nose. A very important part of the Brown Rat.
Eye
An organ found in the head, which converts light into electro-chemical impulses, allowing the Brown Rat to see.
Pinna
The outer part of the ear, it collects sound and makes it travel further into the Brown Rats ear.
Vibrissae
Commonly known as "Whiskers ". The long hair like stalks usually found around the mouth and nose on the Brown Rat, as well as a few smaller ones on the feet. The Brown Rat uses them to sense things and vibrations in the area.
External Nares
The outer part of the nostril, used by the Brown Rat to smell.
Manus
The "hand" or "claw"of the Brown Rat. Used to pick up things and helps it to crawl.
Antebrachium
The fore-arm of the Brown Rat, found between its wrist and its elbow.
Pes
The Latin word for foot. Always used in Zoology terms for the hind leg of the animal. In this case it is one of the Brown Rats two back feet.
Brachium
The arm of the Brown Rat, right above the Antebrachium.
Thorax
A part of the Brown Rat between the abdomen and the head . Works as part of the rib cage and helps secure the heart and lungs of the Brown Rat.
Abdomen
The belly of the Brown Rat, situated between the thorax and the pelvis. It helps to secure the stomach.
Femur
Much like the thigh bone in a human, the Femur takes an important part in helping the Brown Rat to walk and move around.
Tail
The long worm like part of the Brown Rat stationed at the back, right above the anus. The Brown Rat's tail is very important. It is used very well to help it balance when crawling across ledges and thin places.
Crus
The Crus is much like the Anterbrachium in the arm, but in the leg of the Brown Rat. It is situated right between the ankle and the knee. ===================================================================================
Habitat
The Brown Rat can survive nearly everywhere in the world, except for a few specific areas. The Arctic, Antarctica, some places in Southern New Zealand and some areas in Northern Canada are usually too cold for The Brown Rat to survive. In some cases the Brown Rat may survive in these areas if a human settlement is evident, but places like Antarctica are too cold and are nearly completely uninhabited by humans.
Naturally the Brown Rat was built to live in damp areas, namely river banks and swamps. But many man-made places like sewer systems are completely adequate habitats for the Brown Rat. Due to its high moisture levels, old sewer system, alleyways and buildings, New York has become home to a large amount of Brown Rats. Nobody can be totally sure, but the estimate of the Brown Rats living in New York is all the way from 250,00 to 100,000,000!
The Brown Rat, infamous in New York for its large numbers!
Alleyways are a common choice for Brown Rats living in the city, as they usually have a frequent food source as well as places to make shelter. The Brown Rat usually doesn't wander more than 20 meters away from its nest, as long as the food source is maintained which is another reason why Alleyways are a common choice for the Brown Rats environment.
The Brown Rat in a natural environment.
Structural Adaptations
Over the years the Brown Rat has been forced to change to increase its chance of survival. It has done so in many different fashions, but its structure has changed a great deal to help it to survive while being chased by a predator. The Brown Rat, like many rodents, is able to squeeze through holes a quater of its size to help hide and get away from predators. The Brown Rat uses small holes and is able to go through smaller passages to get to safety, as well as using these areas to hide food from other animals.
Another structural adaptation of the Brown Rat is it's tail. Having a long tail (on average 10 inches) helps the Brown Rat to keep its balance when scavenging for food, by helping to sway its weight to keep its balance on high places and thin ledges. This is an example of adaptation to the Brown Rats survival in an urban environment, as many places where the Brown Rat inhabits are derelict. Being rundown means there are lots of high ledges and thin pathways for the Brown Rat to travel from point to point. This makes the Brown Rats long tail majorly helpful, and important to its survival.
Behavioral Adaptations
Brown Rat's stick together very much like families. Each Rat has its own place in the pack, starting from the youngest of the rats and going all the way up to the oldest. However in some cases, the leader of a pack may be based on its strength as appose to its age. In these packs the brown rats take care of one another, grooming each others fur and sharing food. The Brown Rat's work in teams, when creating a new nest certain rats will take care of certain jobs depending on their age. The younger rats usually go out in search of food leaving the older rats to keep together and build nests or stay in shelter.
The Brown Rat finds its form of entertainment in a very primitive manner. This of course is through fighting one another in friendly fights, much like dogs and cats. When fighting one another in a friendly fight, the Brown Rat aims to attack its opponent by boxing and tumbling, as well as battling its opponent in jumping, chasing and staring competitions. The difference between these friendly fights and real fights, is that real fights normally involve attempts at hitting the opponents bottom.
In this video we see examples of a play fight between three young rats (only two of these are Brown Rats). It shows us examples of boxing, staring competitions, tumbling and chasing.
Physiological Adaptations
On average the human heart will beat from anything between 60 and 100 beats per minute. But amazingly, the Brown Rats heart beats on average between 300 and 400 beats per minute. That means that the Brown Rat's body is working up to four times faster than the average human body. Due to this fact, the Brown Rats senses are working this fast all over. Not only is its heart beating this fast, but its brain is working faster, its turning faster, running faster and thinking faster. The Brown Rat uses all of these combined senses to help get away from any predators that might be causing a threat to it. A very good defense mechanism that is always on.
For my future Brown Rat please refer to the following: The Animadverto Per Rattus Norvegicus
For page about the Ancestors of the Brown Rat please refer to the following: Brown Rat Ancestors Page
The Rattus Norvegicus (Rattus meaning "Rat" Norvegicus meaning "Norway") also known as the Brown Rat is one of the most common and well known rats of the entire species. Sporting eight different titles (The Brown Rat, The Sewer Rat, The Common Rat, The Norway Rat, The Norwegian Rat, The Wharf Rat, The Brown Norway Rat, The Hanover Rat) it is most commonly known as the Brown Rat. Infact, most bioligists find it strange that it is referred to as "The Norway Rat" as it did not originate from Norway, but rather it originated from Mongolia and/or Northern China. The following report will outline the Habitat, Structural Adaptations, Behavioral Adaptations and Physiological Adaptations of the Brown Rat.
The Brown Rat is a four legged Muroid with the ability to stand on hind legs. On average the male weighs around 350g, while the female's average weight is around 250g. Some Brown Rat's can be up to 500g, but are not very common. A full grown Brown Rat is usually around 25cm (10 inches) with a tail of the same length of its body (25cm, 10 inches).
Head
Contains the Brown Rat's eyes, brain, ears, mouth and nose. A very important part of the Brown Rat.
Habitat
The Brown Rat can survive nearly everywhere in the world, except for a few specific areas. The Arctic, Antarctica, some places in Southern New Zealand and some areas in Northern Canada are usually too cold for The Brown Rat to survive. In some cases the Brown Rat may survive in these areas if a human settlement is evident, but places like Antarctica are too cold and are nearly completely uninhabited by humans.Naturally the Brown Rat was built to live in damp areas, namely river banks and swamps. But many man-made places like sewer systems are completely adequate habitats for the Brown Rat. Due to its high moisture levels, old sewer system, alleyways and buildings, New York has become home to a large amount of Brown Rats. Nobody can be totally sure, but the estimate of the Brown Rats living in New York is all the way from 250,00 to 100,000,000!
The Brown Rat, infamous in New York for its large numbers!
Alleyways are a common choice for Brown Rats living in the city, as they usually have a frequent food source as well as places to make shelter. The Brown Rat usually doesn't wander more than 20 meters away from its nest, as long as the food source is maintained which is another reason why Alleyways are a common choice for the Brown Rats environment.
The Brown Rat in a natural environment.
Structural Adaptations
Over the years the Brown Rat has been forced to change to increase its chance of survival. It has done so in many different fashions, but its structure has changed a great deal to help it to survive while being chased by a predator. The Brown Rat, like many rodents, is able to squeeze through holes a quater of its size to help hide and get away from predators. The Brown Rat uses small holes and is able to go through smaller passages to get to safety, as well as using these areas to hide food from other animals.Another structural adaptation of the Brown Rat is it's tail. Having a long tail (on average 10 inches) helps the Brown Rat to keep its balance when scavenging for food, by helping to sway its weight to keep its balance on high places and thin ledges. This is an example of adaptation to the Brown Rats survival in an urban environment, as many places where the Brown Rat inhabits are derelict. Being rundown means there are lots of high ledges and thin pathways for the Brown Rat to travel from point to point. This makes the Brown Rats long tail majorly helpful, and important to its survival.
Behavioral Adaptations
Brown Rat's stick together very much like families. Each Rat has its own place in the pack, starting from the youngest of the rats and going all the way up to the oldest. However in some cases, the leader of a pack may be based on its strength as appose to its age. In these packs the brown rats take care of one another, grooming each others fur and sharing food. The Brown Rat's work in teams, when creating a new nest certain rats will take care of certain jobs depending on their age. The younger rats usually go out in search of food leaving the older rats to keep together and build nests or stay in shelter.The Brown Rat finds its form of entertainment in a very primitive manner. This of course is through fighting one another in friendly fights, much like dogs and cats. When fighting one another in a friendly fight, the Brown Rat aims to attack its opponent by boxing and tumbling, as well as battling its opponent in jumping, chasing and staring competitions. The difference between these friendly fights and real fights, is that real fights normally involve attempts at hitting the opponents bottom.
In this video we see examples of a play fight between three young rats (only two of these are Brown Rats). It shows us examples of boxing, staring competitions, tumbling and chasing.
Physiological Adaptations
On average the human heart will beat from anything between 60 and 100 beats per minute. But amazingly, the Brown Rats heart beats on average between 300 and 400 beats per minute. That means that the Brown Rat's body is working up to four times faster than the average human body. Due to this fact, the Brown Rats senses are working this fast all over. Not only is its heart beating this fast, but its brain is working faster, its turning faster, running faster and thinking faster. The Brown Rat uses all of these combined senses to help get away from any predators that might be causing a threat to it. A very good defense mechanism that is always on.Written by Declan Boyd
For my bibliography, please go to the following: Declan's Bibliography !!